Sunday, November 8, 2009

RJA #12b: Presentation Plan

The Long Lasting Effects of Divorce on Children

1. Children's Negative Experiences during Parents' Divorce:

  • feelings of loneliness, pain, anger, grief, sadness
  • feelings of being put into the middle of their parents conflict
  • feelings of abandonment
  • feeling that the divorce is their fault
  • difficulties adjusting to two households

2. Children's Positive Experiences during their Parents' Divorce:

  • feeling fine with their parents' divorce
  • feeling their parents' decision to divorce was a good one
  • feeling relieved that their parents' fighting is over
  • feeling safe now that one parent is out of the home
  • feeling they are better off or not affected by their parents' divorce

3. Causes of Children's Experiences during their Parents' Divorce

A. These experiences are as a direct result of their parents divorce and causes include:
  • parents putting their needs before their children's needs
  • parents putting their children in the middle of their conflicts or using their children as pawns during their divorce
  • parents splitting their household so the children's home as they knew is completely dismantled

B. These experiences are not as direct result of their parents divorce and causes include:

  • individual temperament
  • genes
  • sibling/peer relationships

4. Negative Effects of Parents' Divorce that can carry into Adulthood

  • difficulty trusting others
  • fearful of commitment
  • difficulty with intimacy
  • feelings of isolation and loneliness
  • struggles with low self-esteem

5. Positive Effects of Parents' Divorce that can carry into Adulthood

  • many become stronger
  • many become wiser
  • many become better communicators

6. Minimizing the Effects of Divorce on Children - Can it be done?

A. Some experts believe that the effects of divorce on children can be minimized and if parents have a "good" divorce, their children can survive the divorce without experiencing any negative effects.

B. Some experts believe there is no such thing as a "good" divorce and divorce will always have a negative effect on children.

7. Works Cited

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